My, oh, my! My perfect little puppy is pushing the envelope in all directions to see how far it will stretch. Barking to get what she wants, backing up when I reach for her, jumping up on the two-year-old... and going potty in the house whenever it rains.
The good news is, she sits on command about 80% of the time. She'll down on command about 75% of the time. She'll come when called about 90% of the time. She knows "let's go up (down) stairs," "do you want a treat?" "do you want to go outside?"
I think I have to back up a bit in her training, because she has developed some behaviors that I want to get under control. Like this thing of backing up when I reach for her. And another variation on that theme: when I call her, she comes and sits... just outside my reach.
I have to think about how I want the behavior to look and then break it down into the component parts of her body; what should her head (ears, eyes) be doing? what should her tail be doing? what should her feet be doing? etc. So for instance, on the recall:
Come immediately on command, tail wagging
Sit in front of me, at my feet or six inches in front of my toes
Make eye contact
Wait for release word before moving
Steps: Using a 6' long lead, call her and guide her in. Wait for eye contact, then click and treat. If she's outside the finish circle (about 6" in front of my toes), wait until she moves the slightest bit inside the circle, then click and treat. Continue that way, waiting until she moves in a little closer before clicking, until she is where I want her. Then click and jackpot!
When she is coming in to the correct spot 80% of the time, then start using a long line and allow her to be farther away before I call her in. Continue this way until she is coming from 50 feet away.
Goal: from 50 feet away, Bella will make eye contact when I call her name and come running, tail wagging, when I say "Come!" She will sit within 6" of my toes, directly in front of me, maintaining eye contact until released with "Okay."
Question: How do I make myself more fun for my dog?
The good news is, she sits on command about 80% of the time. She'll down on command about 75% of the time. She'll come when called about 90% of the time. She knows "let's go up (down) stairs," "do you want a treat?" "do you want to go outside?"
I think I have to back up a bit in her training, because she has developed some behaviors that I want to get under control. Like this thing of backing up when I reach for her. And another variation on that theme: when I call her, she comes and sits... just outside my reach.
I have to think about how I want the behavior to look and then break it down into the component parts of her body; what should her head (ears, eyes) be doing? what should her tail be doing? what should her feet be doing? etc. So for instance, on the recall:
Come immediately on command, tail wagging
Sit in front of me, at my feet or six inches in front of my toes
Make eye contact
Wait for release word before moving
Steps: Using a 6' long lead, call her and guide her in. Wait for eye contact, then click and treat. If she's outside the finish circle (about 6" in front of my toes), wait until she moves the slightest bit inside the circle, then click and treat. Continue that way, waiting until she moves in a little closer before clicking, until she is where I want her. Then click and jackpot!
When she is coming in to the correct spot 80% of the time, then start using a long line and allow her to be farther away before I call her in. Continue this way until she is coming from 50 feet away.
Goal: from 50 feet away, Bella will make eye contact when I call her name and come running, tail wagging, when I say "Come!" She will sit within 6" of my toes, directly in front of me, maintaining eye contact until released with "Okay."
Question: How do I make myself more fun for my dog?
